Frost
by Six-string Samurai
Summary: One man's quest for vengeance, answers, and ultimately, redemption. Along the way, may he find a little love. A dark love story, and the greatest test of those bonds. Multicrossover. Ranma/Nabiki.
1. Prologue

Ranma and Co. is Copyright Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. 1993 Ranma ½ is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc.

Author's Notes: I took the time to revamp the prologue and first chapter bits into something more cohesive, and posted it as a proper prologue, while adding in a bit of relevant information. Following this, the remainder of what I've posted as chapters 1-3 will be reposted as chapter one, with minor edits and a proper, non-cliffhanging conclusion. I do apologize for the possible inconvenience this might have caused, but I feel that in the long run it will work for the betterment of the fic as a whole. Also, this way, reviews will not be wholly affected, minus the few that were removed due to the previous story deletion; rest assured that I have taken all former suggestions that I recieved into account, and have done my best to reflect them in the rewrite and edits done to the completed first chapter. As always, I'm open to suggestions and ideas pertaining to this and any other work I may be writing. Thanks for your time, and I appreciate everyone's input, regardless if it be positive or negative. After all, isn't that what constructive criticism is all about? I forever strive to improve, and learn from my mistakes as a writer.

Now, without further ado, onto the story.

Frost

A Prologue

I'm not sure how long I stood at the window of my apartment, looking down at the people milling about on the streets below. I must have been staring for a while because everything started to blur. I realized my eyes were watering. Sometimes, on days like this, I get to thinking, the big "what if." Know what I mean? Say I'd just handled things a little differently. Been a little more, I don't know, understanding or something.

Out in the distance, a flash of light heralded the coming rain. I'd paid the morning news little attention; course the bit about thunderstorms and heavy showers caught my eye. Which, naturally, was just what I needed. Right now I don't particularly feel in the mood for water. I'd already had my fill of people watching for one afternoon, so I slid the window shut with a little more force than necessary.

Giving the place a once over in the ambient lighting, I hardly felt at ease. There was this niggling feeling in the back of my head, maybe from the storm. Kinda like I'd forgotten to do something today.

The annoying sensation had been plaguing me on and off since I woke up this morning. An itch that I couldn't scratch and it kept getting worse by the hour. The cramped conditions where I live don't help matters much; there wasn't even anything to look at. I can pace out the room in a few strides, and the small kitchen and bathroom aren't any bigger. Rent is cheap though, so who am I to complain.

I'd already eaten a pretty big lunch, and dinner was still a few hours away. What I wanted to do was go out and walk off my anxiety. Unfortunately, it was going to start raining any minute now. I wouldn't be caught out in that weather for anything in the world. Not now, with things standing as they are.

There's an old saying I've heard a few times in my travels over the years. It went somewhat like, "Speak of the devil, and he appears." Even after all the things I've seen, and done, those words stay with me. Now was certainly no more apt a time than any other. As the first drops of water struck my window I silently mouthed those words to myself. It wasn't just the rain, nor was it the constant niggling in my head. It was life in general right now. Things had grown so out of proportion that I wanted to crawl over to the bed, and just let everything pass me by.

Sleep, the cure all for my problems. I'm sure I can think of a dozen more permanent ways to fix things. It wouldn't be too hard to just walk right into their hands, and let them take care of the rest. Most of the girls would have me right where they wanted me, one way or another, that would be the end of me. 'Just give up and go back home,' I can hear myself thinking.

Honestly, what kind of fool do they take me for? I didn't get out of that place just to sign my death certificate by going back. Sometimes, just sometimes mind you, life can be a real kick in the pants.

Ten minutes in a hot shower does wonders for a person. Already I was feeling some of the days stress lift. A quick glance at my watch informed me that it was almost 'that time' again. If someone told me a year ago that I would be a slave to the clock, I probably would have given them a clueless smirk, denied it, and never thought of it again. Now, I know better. If there is anything I hate more than rain, it's the ticking of a watch.

Tossing on whatever random clothes I could find, I mentally prepared myself for what lay ahead. Gritting my teeth, I walked over to the heavy-duty freezer in the corner and flipped the latch. Every time I open the damn thing I tell myself that it's going to be the last time. But, a promise is a promise, and I don't go back on my word. Staring into the rising mist, I couldn't help but smirk a little. Nabiki looked better frozen than most people ever look their entire lives.

--

It's not enough that I have trouble sleeping, but sometimes she gets…well, a little controlling. She says she wants it over in one place, and the next minute, it has to be somewhere else. For a while it was getting ridiculously monotonous, "It's more comfortable over by the window Ranma. It's better in the kitchen. Maybe next to the bathroom would be nicer." She could go on for hours, and I'd be sore the whole night. When it came down to it, there wasn't much of an option though. If she wanted the damned icebox moved around who was I to argue? Honestly, I can't remember the last time I'd denied her something.

Rubbing my eyes, I stopped reminiscing long enough to glance at the clock mounted on the wall next to the kitchen. Another hour was all I had to wait. Then, I would finally be able to get to work. I swore over Nabiki's dying breath that she would be revenged. The bastards would pay, and I was ready to collect, just one more hour. One single hour and the day would give way to night, and I could get started.

Some people fuss over the details, while others worry about the consequences. As for myself, I consider the whole thing. Sure, there are times when I've made mistakes, last week standing out in my mind, but mostly I end up on top. The thing with Nabiki was a mistake. While I am the best at what I do, I am still just a guy. I had a job to do and I botched it. Even then, I wasn't the one who felt the aftershock. I tried to save her, and when it counted most, I failed. One of the most important things in my so called life, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. But, just maybe I could try to fix it. Some of it. I owed it to her, and to myself to try.

Back then, and even now, I couldn't lie to her, and I try hard not to lie to myself. I can't bring her back. This wasn't like the old days, back when I was still living with the rest of her family, with Akane. No, there was no water of life here, and the gods certainly hadn't heard my prayers. Shit. Her life was worth so much more than what she'd paid for it, a half finished thing, and her death seemed like such a cheap shot, a stupid fucking joke. But I could make it very expensive for those that took her. She likes that sort of thing…economics and profit. Me, I do my job and go. There isn't time for a whole lot of deep thinking in what I do; more than enough time for that after I die. Plenty of time then.

Of course, she had to die and screw everything up. "That right Ice Queen? Just leave everything for me to clean up, like before," I gave the freezer a little pat. "Don't worry, I'll settle this last debt for you. Just this once. Maybe we'll be even then," I stared hard at the little label on the corner of the humming cooling unit, in green embossed letters it read, 'Little Helper,' I rolled my eyes at the stupid irony. The fridge hadn't been cheap, let me tell you. But, it did its job. Nabiki was safe, for now.

The hour crawled by, but I endured, just like always.

Pushing a hand through my bangs, I heaved a sigh. The rain had finally let up about thirty minutes ago, and I took another look out the window. A little overcast still, but I could see the clouds were clearing up a bit down toward the end of the street. Overhead the moon peeked over the top of the Mishima building, waxing full. Already it was beginning to bath the city in a sad yellow glow; a more suitable night couldn't be prayed for.

Snagging my coat and keys from the little blue stand next to the couch, I gave the place a once over. Not that there was much to look at, and even less to mess up. But, living with Nabs for the short few months we'd had together, well, let's just say a few of her habits rubbed off. Yeah, neither of us were exactly neat-freaks, not when you got down to it. But, she had a few obsessive traits; little things like what dishes had to go in what cupboard, the exact number of magazines allowed on the table, you know, that kinda thing. And she always checked the lock on the door whenever she left the apartment, twice, just to be sure.

I think that's the one that got me the most. I mean, if you knew you'd turned the key, and heard the bolt slide home, what made a person get to the end of the hall, and run back, just to unlock and relock the door a second time? Beats me, but she got me to doing it too, and it bugged the crap outta me, still does. I know, since I'm good at remembering that kind of small detail. I'm also real good at developing muscle memory reactions. Ingrained habits are hard to break, especially for a martial artist like myself.

Well, truth be told I was a little nervous, but also ready as I'd ever be. I gave Nabiki's fridge a little pat as I passed by to pick up mom's sword. Well, it was technically my blade now since I was the one using it, but don't tell mom that. Or pops. The two of them weren't on talking terms with neither me, nor each other last I saw, not since I left the Tendous with Nabiki in tow.

Speaking of pops, the man still had a lot to answer for, and I intended to collect, but that would come later. He wasn't going anywhere, and even if he did, I'd find him eventually. For a sneaky thieving bastard, he sure left wide trails to follow, assuming one was actually attempting to look for him. I know mom never did, just left him to his own devices to ruin my life several times over. But, it would all catch up to him in the end. Every last little scheme, misdeed and torture he'd inflicted on me, all in the name of the Art. I'd sworn to it the same day I'd taken the Saotome honor blade away from my own mother.

Honor huh, those two wouldn't know it if it bit them in their lazy, self-deluded asses.

Satisfied that I'd got everything, I threw on my coat and slipped the katana scabbard into a loop that I'd sewn into the inside lining of the long trench coat. That way, I'd look just like any other salary man wandering the streets on his way to the bar after a hard day's work. I said goodbye to Nabiki and locked up, checking it again so I could save myself a trip.

By the time I made it down the mansion's first flight of steps, I already found myself wondering if I'd locked the thrice damned door. Crap. It was gonna be a long night, I could already tell.

Even without the rain, it was still downright cold outside, and I was grateful for the warmth the long coat provided. The roads were packed and the sidewalks weren't much better, what with everyone getting off work an all. But, this way, I was even more invisible than if I'd been using the Umisenken, I was just another face in the crowd, trying to make it to the train station on time to head home. The thought worked wonders for distracting my mind from the stress and mild anxiety that had been fluttering around in my gut all damn day.

Luckily for me, I didn't actually need to use the rail, since Nabiki had somehow managed to get a decent price on an apartment not too far from Kabuki-cho, which incidentally, was where I was headed. Gods, how much I hated the rail system, as timely and _convenient_ as it was, the damn line maps were a nightmare to figure out, and a couple of times I'd gotten on the wrong rail line when Nabiki wasn't there to point me in the right direction. Small wonder pops and I never rode the rails during the training trip all those years ago.

Well, not inside the train, anyway. Back then, I'd thought he was just being cheap, but now I'd come to realize he probably could never figure out how to get anywhere. Pops never was very good with maps, or directions…hell, anything outside of martial arts was lost on him, unless he could bluff, lie or cheat his way through it. All the more reason why I'd cut ties with the fat lazy panda. The Tendou's could keep him for all I cared, until I was done.

I walked a couple more blocks and finally reached the outskirts of the little district that Nabiki had given me directions for not a handful of days before. I'd only heard about it in passing, mostly from old _friends_ of pops, but Nabiki had been a little more specific about what went on behind the flashing lights and bars of Kabuki-cho, and more importantly, a certain group in who she'd managed, in a roundabout way, to step on some toes. And, incidentally, the reason I'd been dragged into this whole mess in the first place. But, I'd learned the hard way not to cry over spilt milk. All you could do was clean up the mess and move on. So, I was going to do just that.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: For those of you who've been following along up til now, this chapter one is primarily just the previous three chapters all combined into a proper chapter. I really didn't edit anything in the main body of the work, however the last 25% of the chapter is new and pulls it to a close. The new bits begin with Ranma being held in the air by the scarf...which shouldn't do anything to spoil the tale for new readers.

Chapter 1

The place stank, and from the look of it, it wasn't just the dirty alley that hid the entrance. The broken neon sign hanging crooked over the entrance told me I'd found the right store, even if the bald guy with a dry sneer who'd been hanging out under the eave was telling me otherwise. As soon as I walked up, there he was, almost right up in my face, trying hard to stare me down through the dark shades perched on his flat speed bump of a nose. Maybe he just didn't like the way I looked, or walked, or breathed. Maybe he was just pissed off that he hadn't been getting any lately, I could see it in the way his ki was all twisted up. This guy was a mess and eager to find any excuse to get into a fight.

"Kid, I think you made a wrong turn somewhere," pug nose's voice dripped with sarcasm.

He was already starting to piss me right off. Guys like this, they didn't know when to quit. He took it a step further and actually jabbed me in the chest with one bony hand. A quick count showed that a good number of his little piggies had already gone to market, and hadn't been able to pay the bill, which was probably why he was doorman in a back alley dump with a name like the Jade Cookie. Even pops at his most desperate stayed the hell away from joints like this. At that was saying something, if my old man wouldn't risk it. If I hadn't known Nabiki as well as I did, I'd have been wondering what the hell she'd been thinking, getting mixed up in this crap.

But, she had her reasons, while I, I had her little palmtop organizer in my pocket. There was a shit ton of addresses in there to check and the little bastard was a bitch to navigate through. She showed it to me once, and I'd kinda only been paying half-attention at the time. It hadn't seemed all that important back then, knowing how to work the little bugger. I almost broke it the first night and that was just to get the thing to turn on. Why couldn't she have just used a notebook?

"Hey, I told you to get lost, you deaf, or just stupid?" Baldie flapped his lips again, rolling his shoulders back to try and puff himself up.

He got a point or two for effort. I wasn't intimidated by too many people, and a washed up Yakuza with a follicle problem and a height complex didn't even rate in the top hundred. Moron. I was about to tell him as much, then decided I'd do better to just walk away before I did something he'd really regret. Besides, walking right in through the front door wasn't my idea of subtlety. I had a lot of places to visit, and it'd start getting real difficult if people knew what I looked like before I showed up.

"Yeah, sorry, I had a couple ta drink, you know. Though this was the way ta 'Happy 24/7'," I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, letting myself stumble a bit as I stepped away from the door.

The bouncer just started at me, and then he cracked a grin. "No shit, the pachinko place? '24 Happy 7,' right?" He gave me a real shit-eatin grin right then, and I backed up a little bit more when it looked like he was about to nudge me in the ribs with his elbow. "Trying to get the 'blue plate' prize? Damn, that takes me back." He laughed, short little snorts, which didn't surprise me. Now he was all smiles and getting a little too touchy feely for my taste.

"Sorry bout busting your balls there, but you know how it is. Some people just can't get the hint." He jerked a thumb at the door behind him. "Can't let just anyone in. But hell, if you're after the 'blue plate' you're all right in my book."

I hadn't been to the '24 Happy 7,' or whatever the place was called, but it was in Nabiki's list, and the address had shown it was close by, so I'd just blurted it out to get the guy off my back. But, this might actually work in my favor. Getting into the club without busting heads or breaking in through the fire escape, well it had its merits. I decided I didn't want to know what this 'blue plate,' was. Not if it had this guy almost bustin' a nut in his pants.

I made a show of waffling a bit, "I don't know, I mean, I only got so much cash on me tonight," I stuck a hand in my empty coat pocket like I was checking my wallet.

Baldie waved it off, "Okay, okay, you got me. First one's on me. After that, you're on your own," this time he actually grabbed my shoulder and tried to steer me toward the door. "Come on, this weather's gone to shit out here, let's find you a table. I think I know just the one, too." He rapped on the door a couple of times and when it opened he thumbed over his shoulder out into the alley way, "Tanibata, watch the street for a sec. Gotta show my bro here to the good seats."

I'd gotten in relatively easily, but the only think I could think of was that if this place was a 'pay before you play' joint, there might be a little problem.

"Name's Komura, Komura Bando, but I go by Benny around here. One of the girls will be right with you. You need anything, just call for me and we'll get it straightened right out." He looked like he was about to pat my back or something, but held himself in check, just smiling and shaking his head, "Can't believe I'd run into another 'Blue Plate,' kinda guy. What a world."

Benny took off, leaving me to my own devices. I probably had less than a minute to decide what to do about this strange little twist of luck, before one of the 'girls' cornered me. As I sat, reclining back on the plush faux-leather couch, the sword under my coat jabbed into my side. Yes, this could get messy real fast. I swore under my breath when I noticed one of the girls making a beeline for my table. First it rained all damn day and now this. The night was shaping up to be just great.

--

She'd introduced herself to me as Reiko. Like the other girls I'd seen fluttering around the darkened cramped booths against the far wall, she was wearing what passed for the club's uniform; a pair of beige shorts that cut off just past the hip, a little white shirt that stopped just below her breasts, and a fur rimmed brown vest that covered about as much as the shirt did. Topping off the outfit, a thinly brimmed hat that would've fit Hinako in her child form hung across her back from the hat's strap that rested loosely across her throat. Even if it all looked more like the old pervert's idea of a good time, I guess it could've been worse, I'd passed by a couple of those Maid Cafés on my way through Kabuki-cho, I don't know, maybe I just didn't get it.

Not that the Jade didn't have its own little issues. Far as I could tell, all the girls were wearing oddly colored wigs, Reiko being no exception with her hair a crazy shade of green. It wasn't like I hadn't seen a few interesting natural hair colors before, the Joketsuzoku being a prime example, though I'd always privately thought theirs stemmed from so much magic usage or something. For a bunch of women who claimed to be such strong fighters, they relied on spells and trinkets to get their jobs done an awful lot of the time. Not that I'd ever stuck around their village for long, but I'd gotten a pretty personal show of their methods for a good three years, enough feel confident about my opinion.

Anyway, while I sat there wondering what the best move to make was, Reiko tried her best to paint herself onto my side, all the while attempting to pour drinks down my throat. I'd caught the name on the label when she'd set down the bottle on the table, there was no way I could afford it, and I doubted it was included Benny's 'freebie.' I also hadn't seen or heard him talking to anyone on his way out, so this whole thing wasn't feeling like the best of ideas either. Besides, if Nabiki had been poking around here, then the prices on the 'menu' were the least of my problems.

According to her notes, the Jade was a front for a small prostitution ring, with ties in the local area and the Philippines. A friend of Nabiki's had been involved, starting this whole mess about four months back, near as I can tell.

Nabiki…

I closed my eyes for a moment, forgetting the tickling sensation of snake scale green that waterfalled across my neck and shoulder.

She'd been waiting on our doorstep for me to come home, too weak to open the door. I could tell she'd tried, the ring of keys was dangling from one hooked finger, and there were pink fingerprints peppering the door, just below the handle. She tried to talk, but only short gasps of air came out. I tried to quiet her; afraid she was using the last of her breath.

I must've said something because I felt the weight on my side shift, and a face that wasn't _hers_ was peering at me from a breath away. This was Reiko, not Nabiki; I had to remind myself, even though they weren't the least bit alike. I needed to get up, to keep going and be done. I started to tell this to the girl, but she just smiled a strange little grin, swishing her long hair from side to side as she did. I don't know why, but it occurred to me then, that her hair didn't smell like a wig. I could smell the conditioner and something else, faint but familiar. Not perfume. Involuntarily, I took a deep searching breath, but the faint scent barely lingered at the edge of my senses, drifting away when Reiko giggled, filling the air with the stronger scent of mint.

Frustrated at the tiny yet somehow significant defeat, I let out the breath I'd been worrying at in a sigh. The girl halfway in my lap took this as some kind of sign, and started playing with my hair with one hand, and her other was getting dangerously close to slipping into my coat. I wondered if it would be better to get this over with now, or risk waiting to see if a better opportunity might present itself. Reiko was a little too touchy, and the last thing I needed was her hand on my sword.

I glanced around, trying to see if there was some way to reasonably excuse myself, but judging by the, uh, rather intimate positions the rest of the club's guests were in, the green haired snake wasn't going to let me slide with only a few bits of fruit and a glass of untouched brandy.

The hand I'd managed to redirect from my coat was now flicking one of the belt loops on my slacks, and I couldn't decide which the worse threat was.

I hadn't realized that I'd been tuning out the low thrum of music that filtered through the club until the track changed and the tail end of a jazz riff faded into the throbbing beat of a number heavy on the bass. It wasn't anything I recognized, and as the saxophone and trumpet strains gave way to a synthesized set, it was apparent why.

I'd never really gone clubbing with Nabiki, despite the few times she'd tried to drag me, so eventually she'd decided to bring the club back home to get back at me. Sort of. She'd bought a couple of popular club music CD's, and conned me into dancing once or twice. After that, I'd been stuck listening to them for about a week before I had to hide the things so she would stop torturing me. I don't really care for a lot of music anyway, so I generally made myself scarce whenever she played something that was a little too much for me to stomach for long.

Anyway, the tune piping through the club speakers picked up the pace and apparently that was Reiko's cue to move in. Actually, if I hadn't been so worried about her roaming fingers, I might have been impressed with the way she distracted my attention to slip her hand right into my boxers, of course I hadn't exactly been expecting to feel a tiny hot tongue flick in and out of my ear. I'd felt her breath on my neck and she she'd been whispering something like the first ride being free, but I'd been a little more focused on her wandering hand at the time, so I kind of froze when she went to work on my ear. Only too late did I notice she'd gotten a pretty solid grip.

It was going to be a lot harder to get her off now.

A bass line kicked in and the music rose with a fevered pitch, pulling me along with it as the green haired girl took to moving in synch with the beat.

A stray thought and a glint of light tore my gaze from the ceiling to the liquor bottle on the table, and the half full glass next to it, and the plate of food. I suppressed a sigh…the ride was definitely a free one. But, if I could get things to sway in my favor, I wouldn't need to worry about the tab on the way out.

Shit, either way, Nabiki was going to tear me a new one when I got back to the apartment.

--

Whatever it was in her scent that tugged at the edge of my mind, it continued to bother me, increasingly threatening to swallow me until I couldn't take it anymore. It suddenly didn't matter to me how it would look, and I tried to focus on my earlier plan, in which getting snagged by one of the girls hadn't been one of the factors, even if the situation was starting to feel horribly similar to the crap I'd been dealing with before moving in with Nabiki. Gods, it hadn't even been that long ago, but it felt like a lifetime had passed in just those few years. It took an awful lot to make me realize just how much I'd lost, and what I'd gained…I wasn't about to let it go without a fight.

I calmed down a little once I'd got hold of myself once more, and Reiko must've noticed me relaxing because she tried to pick up her pace, so I did my best to disengage myself from beneath her. It was situations like this that used to be such a bitch to get out of, especially when it wasn't that bad in the first place.

Like my onetime Amazon fiancée, Reiko certainly wasn't being shy about the whole thing either, which was kind of shit, I don't know…almost scary in a way. I mean, here was a woman who wasn't hesitating to get at me and she didn't even have any kind of claim, it just happened to be her job, probably. I'd gotten tired of my old man's crap long ago, and I'd be damned if I let his greed catch up to me again.

But no, this was something else; it was Nabiki's little mess this time. Well, hers and mine I guess, since I hadn't done enough to try and stop her, and when she fell, she reached out and pulled me down right along with her. I didn't really blame her though. Maybe, maybe just a bit. I winced as Reiko took another nip at my earlobe. Having enough of the teeth and claws routine, I reached up, plucked her hands from my chest, and effortlessly rolled her sideways off of her seat on my stomach, making sure she landed on the cushion next to me.

I was really glad she'd taken her hand out of my pants a few seconds ago. It probably would have been a little more difficult to get out of that particular hold she'd been rather fond of using against me. At least she hadn't been using her nails, Nabiki'd tried that once, and I'd been sore for the rest of the night.

Before Reiko could do more than give me a confused pout, I was up and threading my way through the darkened maze of tables and couches that made up the front of the club. Sticking more to the center, I thought it would be better for me to steer clear of the booths in the corner. The sounds were enough for me, and I really didn't need to see what was going on. How could Nabiki stand coming to this place for a week straight? This once was more than enough for me I decided.

Weaving past two more of the bikini clad women, one of whom copped a quick feel, I headed toward a door I could just make out to the side of the bar in the back. The door wasn't marked as an exit, or a bathroom, so I figured it was my best bet.

It was either that, or the staircase to the other side of the bar, one I could see leading up to the second floor, which I could already tell was little more than a balcony that overlooked the floor of the club. The lights in the ceiling were dim enough for me to see past up onto the balcony. It wasn't very wide and covered only one side of the club, just above the bar, and full of more booths, probably for guys with thick wallets. I was willing to bet that in a place like this, money really talked. Unfortunately, that wasn't something I had a lot of, not recently, or ever really. But, I did know a few tricks that were just as persuasive, if not more so. The comfortable weight of the Saotome family blade brushing my hip was a lethal reminder, and one I would more than likely be calling on before the night was over.

Just before I got to the door, I could feel someone coming up behind me, the light steps on the floor told me it was more than likely one of the girls, probably Reiko, judging from the hurried footfalls and the soft click of boots. I reached for the handle and gave it an experimental tug, finding it unlocked.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see the bartender turning to look at me, and also a small familiar hand reaching up to clasp at my shoulder. Popping open the door, I skirted Reiko's hand and shot the bartender a smirk. It was probably better in the end if less people knew what I looked like, but the prospect of getting down to business was enticing enough that I didn't mind throwing a little caution to the wind. If push came to shove, and I knew that it would, they would find that I could push back very hard.

Past the doorway, I found myself in a long hallway walled in concrete, filled with the low hum of florescent bulbs that ran along the length of ceiling. Behind me as the door closed on its own, the bartender was saying something to either me or the green haired girl following me, but I didn't bother to pay attention, more concerned with the purple door at the far end of the hall that cried out management, or just bad taste.

Along the hallway there were three or four other doors, but they didn't interest me much, not when there was such an obvious choice down at the far end.

Just to be sure, I checked the hall behind me, but it extended only a few meters past where I stood, an emergency exit with a fire extinguisher hanging off to one side, definitely not the right way. Purple door it was then. I turned and the door out to the club opened, and Reiko poked her head in, asking me if I knew where I was, or if I just needed to find the bathroom. Cute, but I'm sure she could tell that I hadn't tossed her aside just to go relieve myself. I told her as much and she gave me that puzzled look again. I was going to bother explaining, but I just started walking instead.

As I passed the first of the plain brown doors, I heard the club door close, and didn't hear the click of boots that I almost expected. Good. It was easier if I didn't have to deal with the green haired woman, though I'd already decided to stick her in one of the rooms to keep her out of my way if she'd tried to follow me.

Still, I now had less time to chat with the owner, providing that's who was behind the door, or even here at all. I probably should have just asked Reiko if her boss was in tonight, would've saved me a trip if this turned out to be a bust.

--

Making my way down the hall, I didn't need to open any of the side doors to know they were empty. I could feel the lingering traces of faint ki, but right now, no one was in any of the rooms I passed by. The door at the end, however, was another matter, and as I came up to it, there was no doubt there were people behind it. I stopped my hand just as it brushed the knob, trying to see if I could hear anything. But, either the door was too thick, or else the people I could sense just past the wood were not very talkative. Or they were busy with other things, which given the place wouldn't be surprising.

Either way, I waited a few seconds, to see if anything changed, but there was no sign that the people inside knew someone was just outside the door. I half expected the door I'd come through to bust open any second, with 'Benny' charging in, demanding to know what I was doing, and maybe why I'd wasted his gift. I also got the feeling that he might not be concerned in that particular order.

So, before Benny, or anyone else up front got it in their head to try and stop me, I loosened the sword from its sheath at my side and gripped the door handle, wondering if it would be better to just kick the door off its hinges, you know, get my point across in advance.

I settled for taking the sword and sheath out of its place in my jacket and held it loosely at my side. I doubted I'd need it here, but I'd learned from Nabiki's rants how a little intimidation went a long way with some of the people I'd be dealing with. This club wasn't run exclusively by Yakuza, as far as I could tell from reading her notes, but they did have a business deal going on and maybe a little protection racket on the side.

Frankly, I was only slightly positive that the Jade Cookie even had any information worth my time, or me tipping my hand to the next boys on Nabiki's 'naughty' list. But, she'd spent time here, and I was surer that she wouldn't have been wasting her own time on something less than a sure bet.

Turning the handle, I sucked in a breath and flung the door open, getting an eyeful of writhing limbs and heaving bodies. I eventually picked out the startled face of one girl visible in the tangle. She gaped at me from over the skinny shoulders of what I finally determined was the guy in the group, one I assumed was Katsuragi Keima, the owner of the name that had been printed next to the club in Nabiki's palmtop.

I couldn't see his face since his back was completely to the door while he continued pounding away at the girl beneath him, while his hands were busy flitting over several of the other bodies, all atop a huge big oak desk in the center of the wide room. He didn't seem to notice when the one girl stopped paying attention to him, not that I could blame him. For a second I thought she was going to start screaming, but instead she just grabbed his face and jerked it around in my direction.

It was actually kind of funny, the way he bugged out and tried to adjust the glasses that were whisked askew by the sudden movement. The position of his neck brought back painful memories of a few misadventures at the hands of Doc Tofu back in my high school days, but I doubted this guy would have the luck to get stuck that way.

Seeing as how he just gaped at me like one of the carp back in the Tendou's pond, I decided to get to the point. I asked him where he kept the girls. The other ones, the ones for sale, I amended when he started stammering and found his voice to try and find out just who I thought I was.

--

Not too much later, I found myself alone with the owner in what passed for his office. Well, sort of, since one of the girls insisted on remaining by his side after he'd sent the rest away. I'd been my suggestion, that we'd be better able to talk business with a few less ears around. So, off they'd scurried, not even bothering to pick up the discarded clothes strewn around the room. I guess modesty wasn't in great demand, though the girl who'd stuck around, the one with the huge barrette, shaped like a skull no less, wrapped a huge length of scarf around herself, possibly for my benefit.

I was a bit nonplussed when the cloth shimmered and suddenly she was wearing a very expensive looking business suit. Whatever it was she did, there was a brief flicker of something radiating out from her, it felt prickly, and heavy, almost like the tail end of one of Ryouga's depressive chi blasts. But it was gone all too quickly for me to really tell.

Nice trick, I said, letting her know I was more than a little impressed, wondering all the while if it was something I could learn to do, like Ryouga's cloth hardening trick, especially if it was chi related. But, now wasn't a good time to start getting sidetracked, so I returned most of my attention to the star of the show, Mr. Katsuragi.

Unlike his companion, the Jade Cookie's owner apparently wasn't bothered by his own nudity, and boldly remained standing in front of his desk, with one hand adjusting his glasses as he fixed me with a cold glare and the other resting his weight on the desk behind him.

The man was a bit taller than me, but undefined, and a little on the thin side. Other than flaunting himself, he wasn't intimidating, not physically anyway. But I got the distinct feeling that he was a no nonsense kinda guy; which he readily ascribed to the moment he opened his mouth.

"I take it you have some great and pressing reason as to barging into my office like a Wildman, demanding things, Mr…"

He trailed off in an attempt to entice me into filling the blank. When he saw that I had no intention of answering, he continued as if nothing had happened.

"Might I inquire as to the reason behind your interest in my girls? I'm quite curious, you understand."

While he did have a point, I didn't feel up to humoring the guy. I was here to get Nabiki's little friend, or info on her location if she wasn't here, not to tell bedtime stories to exhibitionists. All of which I relayed pretty much word for word so he'd get the picture that I wasn't doing this for the kicks. Hopefully, she hadn't already been palmed off somewhere else. The less I had to hunt around, the better. Nabiki wasn't going to wait forever and the easier these creeps made it on me, the better for them in the long run, or at least, the less I was going to take out in repayment. Despite what the Tendo's or my own folks might otherwise think, I still had some honor left.

The name I gave him didn't seem to be jogging any memories, judging by the blank look on his face the moment I mention it. The woman in the fancy suit however, was another story. I didn't exactly see her flinch, but I could feel her tense up almost across the room. There was a barely noticeable spike of tension, and more of that strange energy, when I mentioned Nonomura Chiiko, a friend of Nabiki's from back in college. It was enough to further prick my interest in her, and make sure I was paying more attention to her, because at this point, she was more of a potential threat than Katsuragi.

"I'm afraid I don't have anyone by that name employed here. I can assure you, I know all my girls personally, as well as when I hired them, how long they've worked under me, exactly what they're paid and who they're involved with outside of work," Katsuragi's lenses flashed as he spoke, as if making a point to the strength of his claim. It kind of freaked me out. This guy sounded more obsessive than another guy with specs that I used to know.

"And _you_ are not the least bit familiar to me. I think I would certainly remember if one of my girls had mentioned anyone remotely fitting your description."

My description? It felt like the guy was insulting me, though I didn't quite follow. But, I did recognize the look of growing contempt on his face. It was something I'd long ago learned to understand whenever Nabiki met someone, or saw something that disagreed with her, or she thought beneath her notice. I'd caught it a few times myself, back when we'd both been living at the dojo, and thankfully not much after that.

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but all you gotta do is point me in the right direction, I'll pick up the girl and be out of your hair. The others, they're not my concern," _not right now_, I amended to myself. I couldn't just leave any others in the lurch, but I'd learned enough from Nabiki's odd jobs to realize just how much leeway the Yakuza were given by local law enforcement. I was already risking too much as it was, but that never stopped me before from getting what I wanted.

Of course, I only had a vague idea of how things were supposed to go. The way I figured it, the simpler the plan, the less things could go wrong with it.

"It seems you are mistaken in a number of things, if you think you'll be leaving here with any of my girls. I'm going to have to ask you to vacate the premises. I'll even choose to ignore the way you interrupted me, barging in as you did. Frankly, I'm not sure how you made it through the front door in the first place. We have certain standards here, and you fall short of a great many of them," Katsuragi drew himself up to his full height, doing a good job of actually looking down his nose at me. The jerk was starting to rub me the wrong way that was for sure.

I adjusted the sheathed sword in my hand, tapping it against my thigh to call attention to it, in case he'd forgotten. "I don't think we're on the same page here. There's a girl here that I was sent to bring back home by the name of Nonomura. She's about this tall," I gestured with my empty hand at chest height. "Long black hair, glasses, tiny button nose, she's kinda plain looking if you ask me, but seeing as how her hair is pretty much down to her waist, she kinda sticks out, even in a crowd." I'd met the girl once or twice, and hair that long had caught my attention right away, especially when she'd been standing next to Nabiki at the time, making for a real good contrast.

Keima frowned and closed his eyes, apparently doing some hard thinking, or so it looked like from where I was standing.

"No," he eventually said with complete finality. "There's never been a girl with those looks in my office. I am afraid you are starting to waste your time, and you are certainly wasting mine," he turned away, completely ignoring me. "Elsee, see to it that I'm undisturbed for the rest of the night."

"Yes, God. I'll make sure no one bothers you," the young woman replied, fingering the edge of the scarf that was wrapped loosely around her slender shoulders.

"And Elsee."

"Yes?"

"Talk to Benny for me. Make sure he understands what his job entails. I won't have this kind of thing happen again."

"I'll make sure he understands, God," the woman I now knew as Elsee seemed to perk up from her earlier apprehension. I watched with some curiosity as she tightened her jaw and drew her eyebrows together in an attempt to look either serious or intimidating, I wasn't sure.

I decided that I'd be better off taking a more direct approach, since talk was getting me nowhere fast. It didn't help that I was being brushed off. "Look, I'm not leaving without the girl. I'd hoped that we could do this without making a mess, but I guess that's not gonna happen now, is it?" Before Elsee could take more than a step in my direction, I crossed the distance from the door to the desk, and planted my foot against the wood, sending it flipping backward to crash into the wall. Katsuragi barely managed to avoid the shower of splintered wood and plaster.

My little show had the desired effect, and the club owner was most definitely not ignoring me anymore, probably because his desk had been huge and solid oak from the look of it.

I fixed him with one of my more infuriating smiles and was about to make a remark about how flimsy his wood was when I felt it again, that strange energy, and this time it was a lot stronger and didn't fade away.

There was a sharp cry of "God!" Then something flashed in the corner of my eye, and I snapped up a hand to intercept the sudden attack. Turning my head, I found myself clutching a pink bit of rigid cloth that tapered into a sharp point that stopped maybe a hand's width from the side of my head. I followed the impromptu spear back along its length to where it sprung ropelike from Elsee's outstretched hands. The look on her face alternated between anger and shock, but eventually settled on anger.

"Let go," she scowled, wrapping her end of the weapon around her arm for a better grip.

I felt her try to pull back the scarf, but it was sort of like playing tug of war with a baby. "Hey, listen, if that's all the strength you've got, this is gonna be a real short fight lady."

My comment served to get her to double her efforts, grabbing the pink cloth with both her hands and pulling with what appeared to be all her might. She even started to rock back on her heels, trying to get her weight into it. This was almost a joke. Her attack had been pretty fast too, and might have hit me if she'd kept quiet. Well, maybe if she hadn't let out that weird energy first…

Watching her struggle was funny for about a second or two more, and then I started to feel a little bad about the whole thing and loosened my grip enough for her to tug it free. Maybe if I gave her a second chance, I'd get to see whatever it was that she did to change the cloth, especially now that I'd be paying attention when she did it.

Elsee didn't disappoint me.

The buildup was palpable, no less so that the first two times. Along with the flare of energy, I noticed a faint shimmer around the woman, now that I was watching for the particulars of her technique. In her hands, the semi-transparent cloth seemed to warp and woof, suddenly darkening and the writhing motion ceased, and my opponent was left gripping the haft of a sword. If I didn't know any better, I'd say her weapon bore no slight passing resemblance to the blade I bore sheathed in my right hand. Now I was more interested than ever in this woman. I was tempted to think it was the cloth she held, but the energy rolling off her in waves was a strong argument to the contrary.

Or maybe she was using the cloth in a similar fashion to the Amazon hidden weapons techniques, though if that was the case, this Elsee was very good at hiding her true speed, because I hadn't seen where she'd hidden the cloth afterward. No, this was something else. It had to be, with the twisted aura she was giving off.

"God, what would you like me to do?"

That was the third time she'd called Katsuragi that, and I wondered if it was part of some weird game of theirs. If this skinny guy was a God, he was a pretty pathetic one. This Elsee chick, his secretary, or bodyguard, whatever, was more threatening than her boss by leaps and bounds. It had to be some kind of pet name or something. Or this was just seriously fucked up; God, my ass.

"It's getting late," 'God' made a show of looking at a clock on the wall above where his desk was partially imbedded. "Take care of it and then check on the girls," he paused again, nudging the corner of his glasses with an impatient hand. "And, don't forget Benny." With that he strode toward an open dresser on the far wall in which hung several expensive looking tailored suits.

Yes, this guy was definitely pissing me off.

"As you wish, God," Elsee spoke in acknowledgement, never having lifted her eyes from me. "You brought this on yourself you know," she was clearly addressing me, and I wondered if she hadn't been paying attention to what had happened just a few seconds ago. So saying, she settled into a sword fighting stance that I didn't recognize, angling the blade at what had to be an awkward angle. It looked like she was trying to use the blade as if it were a staff, or at the least, a horribly shortened Naginata. The whole thing reminded me an awful lot of my mother, which wasn't the greatest just now, but in light of the situation, also a bit ironic.

Here I was, about to duke it out with a woman that looked every bit inept at the finer points of sword handling as my mother, and I was using the self-same blade that had probably seen more that its share of mishandling in the past by said mother. I wasn't offered the chance to compare further, as Elsee darted toward me, this time wordlessly.

I let her close the distance, and true to her earlier performance, she angled the blade in toward my head, jabbing it forward with the same precision and speed that had send the pointed cloth toward my temple the first time around. I just made sure that I wasn't in her path, and let the razor edge wick through the air I'd vacated, leaving her to charge headlong past me. It had been my intention, but she didn't completely follow through with the thrust, and stopped well short of my guard. I found myself winding around a spinning kick to my gut, and slapping away the subsequent follow up with the lacquered sheath of my sword as she whipped her blade around to try and gut me with a reversed stab backward. My parry turned aside her blade for a mere second, as the steel flexed and sprang back up to flick at my exposed forearm.

Dodging the live steel, I snapped out a kick of my own, just catching her in the side, below her ribs. I raised my estimation of the woman when she rolled with the blow, spinning herself almost horizontally in the air away from me, while flicking her own weapon out to keep me from pressing my advantage.

She hit the ground in the splits, catching herself almost flat with her free hand, and the sword stretched out over her back, still held in a reversed grip. I took a step forward and she sprung upward, spinning like an inverted top on her grounded palm. The flickering blade passed by me three times along with the soles of her flat pumps by the time she used the momentum to right herself.

And she winked at me, or maybe I was just imagining things. Either way, she'd stopped her rotation with the blade held behind her back, and I wasn't one to waste an opportunity.

Despite her flashy movements, there wasn't a whole lot of room to maneuver, more than side to side, not for me anyway. Elsee was nearly a head and a half shorter, which killed her reach, but otherwise worked to her advantage judging by her little display of acrobatics. So I darted straight in, knowing while she was no slouch herself, I was simply much faster in the long run. Which is why I was a little bit confused when I found myself having to bend almost double backward as the shaft of a spear suddenly sprouted from behind her back heading for my throat.

I kicked up at the pole as I turned the bridge into a mirror of her earlier windmill, intent on depriving her of the weapon, but my foot met with almost no resistance, much less the sharp thwack I expected to hear. The flutter and ripple of cloth in the wind had me realizing what she'd probably done.

As I cut short my own rotation, I pulled the Saotome honor blade free of its sheath; the resulting whisper of steel was strangely comforting. While I was sure I could get into her guard and finish this, it was another matter if she could instantly change the range of her weapon seemingly at will. Instead I gripped the blade loosely in one hand and held the sheath in my other, doubling as a Jo.

Elsee fixed me with an unreadable stare, and the hint of a smile tugged at the edge of her lips. Gone were the sword and the spear, instead she wielded a pair of wicked looking Kama. This girl was definitely full of surprises. Seeing as how I hadn't yet made a move, she gave the miniature scythes a twirl, and this time I definitely caught a wink. First the green-haired girl, and now this, what a damn night, I knew all that rain couldn't have been a good sign.

"I bet you know where the girls are, don't you," I asked, hoping to get her to drop her guard, or fess up while she was distracted thinking of ways to separate my head from my body.

"Hmph. God already told you, didn't he? You don't think he let's just any girl off the street work here? All the girls here are special. Handpicked even," she replied with the barest of smirks.

"You too, huh?" I grinned back at her.

"No," she shook her head, but didn't drop her gaze. "I'm not like any of the girls you'll find here. You won't meet anyone like me, not on this world. I'm--," whatever she was about to say was cut off by a sharp cough from the corner. Elsee actually frowned at the interruption, but it didn't look like she was going to be any more forthcoming.

"So, where are they, if you don't keep them here? Let me know and I can be on my way and out of your hair."

I already knew she was hiding something, and her continued silence just proved it in my mind. But what was it? Figuring out Nabiki's little notes had been a real pain in the ass, and I admit, I might not have got all the facts exactly straight, which is why I was here in the first place, to get answers, one way or the other. Her handwriting wasn't all that great either, not like I have a lot of room to judge, what with my own chicken scratch, but it sure looked like she'd written down the name of this club as the place. The note in the palmtop had said _Jade_, and _Shinjuku_ clear enough.

I'm pretty sure the second part had been _Cookie_, so I'd done a little asking around and this club was pretty popular with the Yakuza. The name Katsuragi Keima had popped up in her notes too, so it couldn't have been just a coincidence. These two were involved somehow, and if they didn't have Nabiki's friend here, then I needed to find out who did have her, and where.

"Have it your way lady," I shot forward, catching the edges of her Kama with an upward swipe of my own blade and slammed the end of my makeshift bludgeon into her gut even as I watched one of the sickles fade into a wisp of cloth and reform into a pronged Jitte to better catch the blade of my sword. The air rushed out of her lungs with the solid impact, and I brushed aside her slipping guard to drive the sheath home a second time and popped it upward, catching her on the underside of the chin.

I was actually pretty surprised when she merely stumbled backward from the successive blows with only a slightly dazed look in her eyes and a small trickle of blood at the side her mouth. My blade slid free and to the side as her weapons reformed, leaving her with two handfuls of translucent cloth, and a pissed off look in her eye. I guess she was right; I hadn't really met anyone quite like her before. I was going to have to start hitting a little harder that was for sure.

"You jerk," Elsee spat to the side, "I think you chipped one of my teeth!"

"Uh," I paused, not really too sure what to say to that. As far as I was aware, she was trying to kill me, and I'd been only aiming to knock her out. "Would it help if I said I was sorry?" I kind of shrugged my shoulders.

"You damn well better be!" Elsee scrunched her nose, in what I think was supposed to have been rage, but I've seen a lot of feminine fury in my time, and this was actually kind of sad.

I was about to point that out to her, but the rapid flicker of her scarf took precedence, and I had to bring up my blade to deflect the incoming cloth dart, the one that decided instead to wrap completely around the blade of my sword, sealing off the cutting edge. The other end of her scarf likewise snagged the sheath in my other hand. Unlike before, I found the cloth wasn't giving in the slightest, and my weapons might as well have been sunk in stone for all the leeway I could get trying to tug them free. Elsee wasn't pulling from her end either, and I didn't like the way she was smirking at me either. I preferred the scrunched face she'd been wearing a second ago.

With barely four meters separating us, and my weapons snared in that crazy cloth of hers, I saw only a handful of options at this point. She wasn't giving up her hold on my sword, but I could, and I didn't doubt that while her cloth appeared to change as fast as she could think it, I could still get to her and slam home a hundred or so hits before she had the chance to do anything about it. The problem with that was if she didn't go down, my back would be completely open for the two seconds it would take. The rest of my night wasn't going to go too well with a bunch of holes ventilating my lungs, or my kidneys, or especially the back of my head, which she seemed to take a perverse pleasure in aiming for.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry about the whole face shot thing. Now can you give me back my sword? We can go back to trying to stab and slice each other like before."

I felt the grip on my sword slacken. I didn't think the girl was stupid, but she was probably crazy, and that was worse in my book.

Apparently, I wasn't paying enough attention. The moment I felt something wrap around my leg, the iron grip on my weapons returned and my foot was tugged backward out from under me. Crap. I was starting to hate that damn scarf.

Now I really was at a loss for what to do, being held out parallel to the ground, a good meter up, at least as long as I didn't let go of my grip. Otherwise I'd be upside down, and as it was I couldn't quite match the strength in the girl's scarf. She didn't seem to be in any hurry now that I was kind of hung up, thankfully. It gave me a little time to think of a better alternative to being hung out to dry.

The tugging at my leg was insistent, and like the grip her cloth had on my sword, it was vise-like, undeniable, though the strength in its pull was thankfully no more than Elsie's own, or I wouldn't have even considered relinquishing my grip. I didn't relish the thought of being tossed into the wall, or through one, for that matter. But, as it stood, the worst I was looking at was a few inconsequential bruises, probably just to my pride. So, I let go.

Sure enough, the moment my grip slackened, the cloth around my ankle surged back, yanking me into what would have normally been a face plant, but I caught myself in an impromptu one armed handstand, and spun myself halfway to get a look at the cloth that was holding me up.

Only part of it was completely solid, no more than half a meter away from my foot, so I scissored my other leg around where the cloth started to sag towards the ground like a bizarre imitation of a cobra, and jackknifed my body around to snag the remainder with my free hand. Flipping myself over, and using the momentum to completely right myself, I ended up back with both feet firmly planted on the ground, and the annoying binding pinned beneath my shoe, all in the time it took my opponent to realize her little trick had failed.

Of course, for my efforts, she sent my weapons flying to opposite ends of the room with a flick of her scarf, and I could feel her trying to pull back the end that was trapped under my foot, with about as much success as she'd had the first time I'd caught it barehanded. The woman fixed me with another of her glares, and didn't seem to be willing to admit she was on the losing end of this little match.

"Uh, Elsie, right? We could keep this game going all night, but I think the both of us have other things to do, and I have a girl I need to take back. So, why don't we do the both of us a favor, and you tell me where I can find the girl. I know you're hiding something."

Beneath my foot, I could feel the struggle slack, and hoped that for her sake, the lady was going to cooperate. She'd already proven to me that I wasn't going to be taking her out of the fight with just a few little taps like I'd hoped. No, she wasn't going down for the count unless I took it up a few notches, and probably treated her like she was on par with Ryouga's old standard. I really didn't have a problem fighting girls, but that didn't mean I had to like putting one out cold, not if it meant less worry, and less interference in the long run. Given the situation, I didn't exactly have a free time schedule to work with here. Probably less than a day all told, before I had more trouble than was good for me, breathing down my neck.

Apparently, she wasn't in total agreement with my suggestion, because not a moment later, I found myself tensing up as she let out a frustrated growl and charged headlong at me. The scarf around her shoulders gave off a telltale shimmer, though I didn't sense any more of that thick and twisted chi, and no weapons formed either. What was she up to?

When she was just outside of my reach, I felt a shifting under my foot, but couldn't spare a glance. It felt like the bit of her scarf was no longer underfoot, and I noticed that the shimmer of cloth around her neck had ceased, now that she was up close, but there was hardly time to give it more than a passing thought. I chalked it up to her ability to spontaneously form weapons, and reasoned that if she could form the stuff from a spear to a sword to smaller things, that her manipulations of the material likely extended to greater heights. I probably wasn't far off in that assessment, I realized once I let her first flurry of strikes into my guard, falling backward as she pressed harder.

I could see that she was becoming more irritated with me as I continued to back up, all but brushing aside her attacks with the barest of taps, redirecting each one to miss with but scant few centimeters between me and the enraged fists. It appeared she'd given up on the acrobatic shtick and what few kicks that she lashed out with were all forced. She was trying too hard to land a blow, and only giving thought to each potential hit being the one to land. Without thinking ahead, there was no way she'd actually manage to do so, let alone come close to beating me in a hand to hand fight. I don't think she realized that power and finesse weren't mutually exclusive, and now wasn't the time for her to be learning that particular lesson. I had more pressing matters to attend to.

I'd thought of a better way to end this particular problem, and one that would better suit my needs. I'd begun to realize that the woman was maybe just a little hung up on her boss, though I couldn't really figure out why. I mean, the guy was a twig, with barely any amount of chi that I could detect. I sure as hell didn't see a draw. I mean, the guy ran a glorified brothel for crying out loud. Then again, the pile of girls I'd caught him tangled in might have had something to do with it. I can say with all assuredness that I personally hated guys like that. Granted I hardly knew this Katsuragi, but it was too easy to lump him in with bastards like Kunou, and Sanzennin. All guys that not only though they were god's gift to women, but that because of that, no one else could ever compare, and were practically affronted when any girl who already had a boyfriend wasn't chafing at the bit to break up and be with them.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't have ever really cared one way or the other, if I hadn't been on the receiving end of that one-sided egotistical affection, if you could call it that; what a bunch of narcissistic bastards. And it only got worse when girls would actually feed those jerks the crap they wanted to hear. If anything, anyone who pandered to idiots like that was worse in my book.

Elsie continued her mostly ineffectual barrage, and I let her, determined to take the fight outside the office. I wasn't going to get any information out of her while the man she referred to as a god was in the same room. Amazingly, the speed of the attacks never slowed, and the power she was putting behind the blows rivaled my onetime fiancées as I found out when a few of the strikes slipped in as I was trying to come up with a plan that consisted of more than 'get the girl outside and start asking questions'. I mean, while it was simple and to the point, I had to give her a little more credit. Anyone that followed someone else's orders so willingly and with such apparent devotion had to have their reasons, and getting her to just hand out the dirt on her boss was bound to be complicated. It wasn't like I didn't know that.

Another punch found its way to my jaw as I deliberated. That one had kind of stung; she'd caught me just under the cheek bone with one of her knuckles. She may have been a little angry, but as we reached the middle of the long hallway, each of her near misses was drifting closer and closer to actually tagging me. She was tightening the range of her attacks, sacrificing power for accuracy, and we could both tell it was starting to pay off, just as we both knew who was really in control of the fight. But, she didn't say anything and just continued to press on, until a vicious kick slipped past and caught me in the hip. We'd almost backed up into the emergency exit, and the hard contact sent me stumbling back into the crash bar. I fell through the doorway as it slammed open, tumbling into a backward roll that brought me back to my feet.

It took me a few seconds to realize that I'd ended up out in the middle of another thundershower. It was pouring rain, hard enough to soak me in just the few seconds, and I wiped the hair that was hanging down plastered to my face just in time to see a leg appear right where my head should have been, had the situation been otherwise. Even with all the hate and loathing I felt toward my curse, even I wasn't blind enough to realize that it was useful in its own way. It had cost me so much. Too damn much, but here it was, saving my skin yet again.

And maybe that was it. The true meaning behind the fucking thing, and even in this situation, I didn't feel any gratitude for my seeming luck. It was just another reminder of that which I'd lost. The shit would come back around to hit me; it was just a matter of time. First Akane, and then Nabiki, even if the latter wasn't really due in any part to the curse on my body, I still felt responsible. Damn it, I was responsible. It had to be that way, because that's what my life was. And I couldn't even do the right thing and just take myself out of the equation. I'd tried that, and Nabiki had paid the price for it, not that she'd ever have admitted it. But, I knew the truth. It hurt, but I knew it well enough.

Settling my footing on the wet cement of the small parking lot behind the club, I prepared for a continued onslaught. But all I got was a second kick, this time aimed properly, as the owner of the leg got a better look at her target. I didn't even have try and block as the extended roundhouse stopped halfway between her and me. It seemed she'd gotten a real good look, and no amount of sleeting rain could hide the fact that Elsie found herself fighting what for her, would appear to be a different person. She lowered her leg and just continued to stare. I could see the question in her eyes, just waiting to find its way to her tiny, tightly drawn lips. Just fucking ask it, and we can move on to bigger and more important things I found myself wishing internally, the old anger coupled with this whole situation beginning to stir up things I didn't feel like remembering, at least not now, not when I had a clear goal still in mind.

"Wh-what are you?" The woman in her sodden designer suit finally muttered. She'd almost completely dropped out of a fighting stance, but there was something in her expression that told me otherwise. Before I could even begin to answer, her eyes hardened and she tightened herself up again, "He sent you didn't he. To take me back." It wasn't a question, though her words were soft and barely audible through the pounding deluge.

Now I didn't know what was going on, and it seemed that my curse wasn't going to be the issue here. So I went with her lead, "Take you back? Back to where?"

"Shut up. I quit a long time ago. You can just tell him that I'm with God now and he's going to have to send more than one underling to drag me back to Hell!" She punctuated her words with a huge flare of dark chi that sent me backwards, sliding across the asphalt.

I pulled myself out of the side of the car that I'd dented in, and shook my head. There was a lot more power hidden in that lady than I'd thought, and this was probably not a good thing. It was going to be a whole lot harder to get answers now, and I didn't really like the way things were not going according to my admittedly thin plan. But, if she wanted to take the gloves off, then I would certainly return the favor.

"I've had it with that place. Had it up to here," she raised her hand well above her head, indicating just how much she'd had it up to. "I'm sick and tired of cleaning up after all those damned demons. I'm sick of not being appreciated, taken for granted, and all but stepped on by that fucking boneheaded boss of yours. The only thing of mine you'll be taking back is the dents I leave in your skull, you…you lackey!"

The whole time the woman was screaming at me, the waves of energy continued to build, and while it wasn't visible, and there was no light show, I was struggling to keep myself from being pushed back and further imbedded into the Honda behind me. I had next to no clue as to what she was talking about, but I was no one's lackey, or toady. I'm not a fucking lapdog, and I only helped out Nabiki once in a while, because I thought we had something going on. So sue me for doing someone a favor.

Besides, she paid the bills, and I did my share of the work. It wasn't like I was completely at her beck and call, or that I complied with every little whim she might have. Or do things for her just so she'd toss one of those smirks my way. Shit, well I guess when you got right down to it I might seem less like my own man and more like Nabiki's gopher. But that didn't give this glorified hooker the right to call me out on it, what did she know about me anyway.

Just as I felt the metal beneath me start to give, the waves of chi receded with a sudden snap, coiling back in on Elsie. It wasn't gone, by no means, merely concentrated just on the edge of her body. I could see it now, as a writhing darkness that shone oddly enough right through the torrents of water from the broken sky above. Even focused on her as I was, I barely had time to roll to the side before dozens of sharp edged spears of cloth turned the automobile behind me into a good imitation of a pincushion. She'd been fast before, but this was bordering on ridiculous. Elsie didn't even bother to retract the scarf, it just faded into wisps of nothing, reappearing around her shoulders before lashing out again to tear up the ground beneath me. If my leap surprised her, it didn't show.

I let my body twist at the apex of my jump, and angled myself toward the woman, feet first. Even as quick as her cloth disappeared and reformed, I'd put enough force into my jump to carry me right to her, and as I connected, I could see the scarf appearing in the corner of my eye, too late to interfere. I felt a grin cracking at the edge of my lips as one foot caught her in the stomach, and bent my other leg to hammer my knee into her head as she bend double from the initial blow.

The momentum carried both of us into the ground, and I rolled off of her, spinning around to land a heavy axe kick into her chest. But, she'd already pulled herself to the side, and the only thing my foot cracked was the ground.

Like before, the woman used her legs in a windmill to pull herself off the ground, and since I was a lot closer this time, I ended up catching a sudden flashing leg in the arm, and the subsequent blow whipped around into my chest as I rocked to the side. I hadn't really expected the knee to the face to put her down, but I'd hoped it would have slowed her a little. No such luck it seemed, as she completed the turn to regain her feet and I was forced to stuff two more kicks and a nasty backhand punch that rocketed towards my face.

Not wanting to let too much space get between us, I darted forward to close the gap and blew through her crossed arms to hammer at her sides with several dozen hits. Her elbows dropped down to cut into my strikes and I took the opportunity to lay into head with a hammer fist of my own and popped her in the chin with my elbow. I got a hard stomp to my shin and a low roundhouse to the thigh for my trouble, as she fought to get distance. Distance that I couldn't let her have, so I followed, sliding across the wet ground two steps for her every one, eventually lashing out with leg work of my own, laying a trail of bruises up her center. All she showed for it was a bloody nose, and an angry glare. What the hell was this lady?

Right as I was about to lay into her again, I ended up cutting my attack short. Those damn Kama's were back in her hands, and she weaved her arms into a pattern that I couldn't risk sticking my own limbs into without nasty consequences. Like before, she used the opportunity to send me quickstepping backward, but I wasn't going to let her dictate this dance.

When she extended her arm in an attempt to put the blade through my neck, I halted my backward motion and vaulted over the taller woman and twisted in the air, landing only a breath away from her back. Before she had the time to spin around and lash at me, I tapped several pressure points on her back and neck, and watched with satisfaction as she suddenly seized up, motionless. All around us, the rain continued on, coming down with no signs of letting up. It fit my mood exactly. I had questions, some new and some old, but they would be getting answered, one way or the other. Even if I had to get creative about it.


	3. Chapter 2 part 1

Ranma and Co. is Copyright Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. 1993 Ranma ½ is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. _Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai_ is Copyright Tamiki Wakaki/Shogakukan, Inc. 2008. OneChanbara 2008/2004, distributed by Jollyroger/Tamsoft.

Frost

Chapter 2 part 1/3

"Like I was saying, all I want is to pick up my friend, and we can forget this whole thing. Your boss might not know her, from what I could tell, but not you. You recognized the name, I could tell that much. Right? So why don't we make this easy on the two of us, and you tell me what's got you so worked up?" I spoke as clear as I could through wind that was picking up, soaking the both of us with more rain. If there was something I could do without, it was crap like this. I wasn't about to walk out of here and have the night be a waste.

"What did you do," the woman spat out from beneath hair that was plastering her face. "That was no spell," she grit her teeth, apparently doing her level best to will her body to respond through the paralysis that had set in.

"Look, lady. I don't really know jack about spells. I've had my fill of magic to last a lifetime, lemme tell you," I creased my brows, not feeling like getting into a pointless discussion while stuck out in a downpour.

"You, you're not from Hell are you," she spoke as if she'd come to a stunning revelation.

"Hell, nah…though I've been told to go there more times than I can count, if that helps," I shrugged, it was true, even if ninety-nine percent of those times was from the tried and true thorn in my side, Ryouga Hibiki.

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be answering my question here, not the other way around. You don't look too comfortable like that, and I sure don't care to be out here any longer than necessary. This weather isn't my cup of tea. Fess up and we can both get back to our lives all the faster," I kept as close as I could to her back, while keeping an eye on those damn kamas of hers. I wasn't sure how long the pressure points I'd tagged would stay active, and I didn't doubt that she'd leave such a gaping hole in her defense a second time.

I watched her jaw clench again, apparently she wasn't done trying to struggle against her own body. Physically, she wasn't anything impressive, but she could sure take a beating with the best of 'em.

After another few seconds, I could see the tension leeching out of her. Maybe she'd decided to play along, and I didn't mind the break, for one.

"Nonomura, you said, right?" she spoke, and I thought I could hear a hint of resignation in her voice, but it might have just been my wishful thinking.

"Nonomura Chiiko, yeah."

"God wasn't all that impressed with her, as I recall. I had her sent away, as there was no reason to waste his precious time on girls with little potential," the woman spoke with nothing short of pure conviction.

My eyelid started to twitch, sure Nonomura wasn't more than a passing acquaintance of mine, but it was something else to hear someone so casually dismissed. More to the point, if it had been like that, why would this woman have acted surprised at hearing that name, "And," I questioned, wanting to hear what was obviously a more complicated tale.

"As I said, I had her sent away. But, just because God had no want of her here, that didn't mean she was useless elsewhere. We have many establishments across the city, much like this one," she did her best to glance backward out of the corner of her eye as she spoke, putting forth a great deal of contempt in that one look. "If knew to come to the Jade, surely you knew that much at least."

I could feel that glance turn from undisguised scorn to mild curiosity. But, like I just told her, this was about Nonomura, not me. Unfortunately, as Nabiki made it all too clear over the years that I'd known her, I have a terrible poker face, and this Elsee lady could see through it, even stuck as she was.

"You didn't know, did you? Hah, you must have the dumbest kind of luck. God doesn't have a high tolerance for fools, and less so for useless ones that disturb him."

"Look lady, get to the point. I don't care about that glasses guy one way or the other, especially if the girl I'm tracking down isn't here. If you know where she is, just spit it out already, or you'll be the useless one, got it?" I felt a little bit of the old heat rising up. Beating around the bush wasn't my style, and straight answers were the best kind. None of that old smart-ass riddle crap that people like the old ghoul and the thrice-damned geezer liked to spout off. Why couldn't people just be straightforward for once, I don't think it's too much to ask.

Apparently, I was missing out on some big joke too, because the lady flashed me a real bright smile, completely out of the blue for the situation she was in. It was just enough to kick start my brain into noticing something wasn't quite on the up and up. Now that I was on edge again, I noticed it, a faint whisper of the earlier twisty ki she'd been putting out. My busy mouth was going to be the end of me, hopefully sometime after all this was done, "Shit," I blurted out as I leapt backward, away from the suddenly much heavier ki that burst outward from the crafty woman.

None too soon, either, because several thin lances of pink burst up through the ground where I'd been standing. I'd completely forgotten about her damn scarf. It had to be magic, or something other than a simple ki technique, otherwise she shouldn't have been able to work it with most of her body in shutdown. Naturally, it mattered a whole lot less what it was, than what she was capable of doing with it. That was what concerned me in the here and now. I wasn't going to stand here and be anyone's pincushion, not if I had something to say about it.

"Watch where you point those, lady. That damn ribbon of yours is getting on my nerves."

The energy rolling off of her once again shrunk down, and the points of cloth shot back from where they'd come. She gave a final shake, almost as if she were having some kind of fit, until the energy all but vanished from my senses. Then she took one step, and another, turning around to face me in the process.

"That took a bit longer than I expected," she gave me another one of those cat at the canary grins. "You're positive he didn't send you from Hell? You dodged my attack, after all. And there's that pretty face of yours to consider."

"Sorry to disappoint ya, but I'm local, born and bred. But, you're not from around here, I take it?" I kept a little more distance, as well as an eye on the surroundings, if that ribbon could go through asphalt, what other tricks did she have?

"I've been here long enough to consider it home. But as for you, God asked me to take out the trash, and has deemed you such. I have to discipline that ugly brute out front too, as much as I'm not looking forward to it," true to her word, her vicious smile dropped for a moment, replaced by a look of disgust. "I'll never understand why he was given such an important job," she shook her head, "anyway, that is that, and this is this."

"Ah, whatever you say," I shrugged, dropping into a lower stance in case I needed to move suddenly. This was dragging on too long for my taste, but I didn't see any easy way to deal with this lady, not if I couldn't subdue her outright. I was just going to have to hit her hard and fast. I couldn't help but grin a bit myself. "I'm not the one that's gonna be taking a dip in the dumpster, lady."

"We'll see soon enough, won't we," she furrowed her brows and did something with her hands that I didn't quite catch. Suddenly, something appeared in her hands, it must've happened in between my blinking, because one moment, she was bare-handed, the next holding what looked like a big, "you've got to be kidding me, a broom?" I wanted to slap a hand across my face, but it wasn't like I hadn't seen more ridiculous weapons before. Plus it brought to mind a few incidents that were better left in the past.

"It's a very effective weapon, believe me," Elsee said, spinning in in her hands until the bristled end was facing me.

This was about to get a whole lot more interesting, I figured. It would also be a lot better if I had my sword on hand too. Without thinking, I stole a glance back toward the totaled Honda, the Saotome family blade glistening in the puddle that it was resting in. I'd feel a whole lot better about this mess if it was back in my hands, I was sure of that.

"If you say so, I'll just have'ta take you at your word," I responded by cracking my knuckles.

"Why don't I just show you," she cried out, brandishing the broom as if it were an oddly shaped spear.

For one, it definitely gave her an advantage in reach, not that she needed it, with that blasted ribbon wrapped around her shoulders. The way she wielded the weapon clicked, and I realized why she'd been using her makeshift sword in that weird manner earlier. This was what she was more comfortable using, that was pretty damn clear, the first few times it whipped past my face, trying to remove my head from my shoulders, forcibly if need be.

There was also the whole issue of her height to deal with. She had almost a handspan over my usual rakish good looks, and now that I'd gone girl-side, it felt like she was towering over me. I leapt backward, tucking my legs up as she went for a wide leg-sweep, quite literally in this case. If anything, I wished I'd picked a different jacket. While it was great for hiding a weapon, I was damn near swimming in the thing right now, and the last thing I wanted was to get my own legs tangled in it.

Bending backwards to dodge a flurry of swipes, I did my best to angle her away from the car, so I could make a grab for my own weapon. I don't know where she pulled the broom from, but judging from the crazy ribbon she had, it was safer to assume it wasn't your run of the mill push-broom. I might not be able to cut it, but I could parry, and probably disarm her if I had my sword.

"Stop hopping around like a bug," the woman frowned, growing more relentless in her attacks. "This won't hurt, much-I promise."

"Like that makes me feel any better," I almost slipped on the wet ground , and turned the unanticipated momentum into a slide that carried me under a particularly zealous swipe, right toward the Honda and my waiting blade, "Hah, gottcha," I shouted, maybe getting a little too carried away myself as my fingers wrapped around the hilt. "Let's keep this interesting, shall we," I flipped around, narrowly blocking a downward chop with the haft of the sword.

As I'd guessed, the blade didn't so much as chip the wood bearing down on me. "Figured as much. What's that thing made of anyway?" It didn't appear as if she was going to answer my half-hearted question, intent on bludgeoning me into paste as she was.

I blocked a few more strikes, finally pushing aside her broom to land a dozen or so hits to her ribs, but like before she grimaced, shrugging off the pain. Any other time, I might have felt like applauding her efforts, but this was getting ridiculous. Why did getting a little bit of information have to be so freakin' annoying? What was this lady, one of the musk or something? It had been a really long time since I'd had a fight quite like this, and it was beginning to tell. Maybe Nabiki was right after all. I was getting soft, and right now, I couldn't afford that.

Pushing back her strikes a second time, I slipped in a few heavy kicks, aiming low for her legs. I felt three of them land, hitting hard against her thigh before striking what felt like an iron pole. "Gah!" Sure enough, that infuriating ribbon was coiled beside her leg like a neon piece of rebar. "Look, just tell me where she is, and we can quit dancing around like this." I was pretty sure I'd be feeling that last hit in the morning, and sporting an nice lump to go along with it.

Shooting me another one of those grins when she realized she'd gained a little sneaky victory, she stepped back mildly favoring the leg I'd managed to throttle just a bit. "Don't think you can beat me that easily." She held her broom to the side and the ribbon wrapped around it, forming a makeshift spear point over the bristles at the head. "I knew that girl was trouble when she was brought in. God didn't understand, thought she was just another one to collect, but I knew otherwise. I asked him to be more careful when picking, and now look at the mess he's left me to clean up."

With that she leveled the tip of the spear at my chest. I just knew this had to be something more than she'd been letting on. Not that I cared about the details when that thing was pointed at me dead center. Yet something else I owed to Nabiki. What kind of mess had she gotten us into this time?


	4. Chapter 2 part 2 of 3

Ranma and Co. is Copyright Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. 1993 Ranma ½ is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. _Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai_ is Copyright Tamiki Wakaki/Shogakukan, Inc. 2008. OneeChanbara 2008/2004, distributed by Jollyroger/Tamsoft.

Frost

Chapter 2 part 2/3

"That's not the only problem you have, Miss Elsee," a voice called out from the club's open back door. The rain was really coming down now, and the words were almost lost, but there was a certain strength behind that voice which caught both the woman in question's attention and my own.

However, I was focused on the problem before me, whereas the Elsee chick, she made the mistake of turning her head, a puzzled look crossing her features. It wasn't a voice I recognized, though it was pretty clear that she did, and it wasn't one she expected to hear under the circumstances.

"Reiko, what are you doing out here, get back inside. This isn't any of your business," Elsee instructed, firm in the knowledge that she was in control of matters.

I was a little more dubious as to that impression, but the woman was tougher than I'd first given her credit for. If she was from the underworld like she claimed, well then that explained a whole lot, and left tons of other questions better unanswered. I was here for info on Chiiko, that was all. But, this chick had to be difficult. I looked past Elsee, and sure enough, the green haired lap dancer was standing just outside the door, already getting soaked, though with what little she was wearing, it made for a different sort of sight. One that I had to blot out and try to make use of the momentary distraction.

"That's where you're wrong. I've got business with you, and maybe with him," Reiko replied, taking steps to close the distance between herself and the pair across the small lot. "I've waited around long enough, though I admit this gig pays pretty well. I was hoping to be done with this place weeks ago. But, the boss is too damn picky. I couldn't get close, and this guy here, just waltzes in. He's got balls," Reiko grinned, locks of green plastered across the sides of her face. "Well, he did a little while ago. That's some trick. I'd like to get a better look sometime."

Her bold comment actually hit a nerve and I felt my face heat up. Some things still got the better of me from time to time. A little fact that Nabiki had always made use of, for better or worse. Usually worse, in my experience. "Uh, thanks, I guess. I hope you don't mind if I decline that offer."

Elsee seemed to remember she was in the middle of trying to beat me into assorted shapes, and turned back at the sound of my voice. "You, be quiet. This doesn't concern you."

"Ah, I'm pretty sure she just mentioned that it did," I shrugged, kicking out to try and knock that damnable broom from her hands while she was busy worrying over her employee butting in. But, that blasted cloth intercepted my leg and I retracted my kick before it got tangled up. Elsee didn't budge, attention split between two fronts.

"That's too bad," Reiko said in my direction, though it wasn't clear if she meant it or not. She addressed Elsee again, "Look, I've been listening, and it sounds like I shouldn't have been bothering with going after Katsuragi in the first place. You're the one who pulls the strings around here, aren't you, Miss Elsee," the lightly dressed woman stated, cowboy boots clicking on the asphalt.

"Reiko, go back inside, we can forget this little talk ever happened," Elsee bristled, a warning edge clear in her voice. "You've been a valued employee, and we wouldn't want to lose you so early on."

"I can't do that. I've wasted too much valuable time already. I'm looking for my sister, Saki. Last I heard from her, she was checking this place out. That was almost two weeks ago. You couldn't have missed her, a high school girl visiting this kind of club," the cowgirl said.

"I have no idea who you're talking about. We don't allow kids. God has a strict policy on the age limit," Elsee replied, though her grip on the broom was white knuckled.

"Heh, she's lying through her teeth," I took the chance to irritate the woman further. I'd already seen that her self-control had its limits, and prodding her further only made my job easier in the long run. "This place might have rules like that, but I think you know others that don't have a problem. Like wherever you sent Chiiko."

"Your both really set on trying my patience," the suit clad woman spat, slowly giving the broom a twirl, before slamming the butt down on the asphalt. The ground cracked slightly under the force of the impact, which was worrisome, as the woman herself wasn't very strong.

I took a step back as that heavy aura sprang up in a thick wave. This close, it was vaguely nauseating now that I was being hammered with it. Grunting, I channeled the soul of ice, and the feeling lessened to a bearable level. Across the way, Reiko was having more trouble, and she visibly slid back across the pavement, boots seeking some kind of purchase. She brought her arms up and crossed them in front of her as she slid. A small spike of chi in the air around her halted the involuntary retreat. I was a little surprised, but it just went to show that this chick wasn't jumping into deep waters without knowing it.

Elsee, however, was a bit more nonplussed. "That shouldn't be possible. Just who are you? We ran a background check."

The dancer lowered her arms, revealing a tight grin. "Papers can be faked, just like hair can be dyed. It doesn't really matter who I am, Reiko is real enough. A bit of a bitch, but I'm just borrowing her name. Now, what did you do with Saki? Or do I have to beat the answer out of you? Unless you really think you can stop him, and me, at the same time."

"What the lady said," I chimed in, raising the Saotome honor blade once more. I wondered just how good this 'Reiko' was unarmed. I'd had her in my lap, and she was pretty solid as far as I remembered. Especially those thighs. I'd figured it was just from keeping in shape for her line of work. But, if she'd been doing this only to find her recently missing sister, that dedication to fitness was likely for a wholly different purpose.

With opponents on either side, Elsee skipped backward, giving herself more room to maneuver, and to wield her short and long range weapons. I watched the turning broom and the cloth that fluttered around her shoulders, with some concern. My blade couldn't cut the cloth, and it was similarly blunted against that chi enforced broom. But, that didn't mean Elsee herself was impervious, especially given the lengths she'd gone through to keep the sword at bay.

'Reiko' didn't seem quite as cautious now that her intent was revealed, and she darted forward with fairly impressive speed, barely avoiding getting skewered by the spear-like cloth as she closed the gap.

Not one to miss out on an opening, I moved in too, on Elsee's left side, intending to parry the broom and give one of us a better opening to strike. Hopefully, we could end this before it dragged on any longer. I really wanted to dry off and maybe soak in a hot bath for good measure. First though, I needed to find out what Elsee had done with Chiiko, and this Saki kid.

* * *

A/N: I'm looking for two or more series for crossover in the coming chapters. Maybe a rom/com, something not too serious that I can suitably mess with. Series heavily under consideration at the moment are Yamada and the Seven Witches (Yamada-kun to 7-nin no majo), and Shitsurakuen. I'd prefer to keep it in contemporary settings, with a touch of fantasy, at best. Thanks in advance.


	5. Chapter 2 end

Ranma and Co. is Copyright Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. 1993 Ranma ½ is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. _Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai_ is Copyright Tamiki Wakaki/Shogakukan, Inc. 2008. OneeChanbara 2008/2004, distributed by Jollyroger/Tamsoft. Paradise Lost (_Shitsurakuen_) is Copyright Touru Naomura/Square Enix, 2009.

Frost

Chapter 2 part 3/3

Elsewhere...

A slim figure stood on the roof of a tall building that overlooked the Tokyo bay. The night sky above flashed briefly in the distance, a herald of the coming storm. For now, the streets below were slick with rain. But, the main concern for the tall redhead wasn't the city or the people going about their daily lives several stories down. No, the woman revealed by the lightning was focused on the vast island all but hidden from view by the weather, sitting in the middle of the bay.

The young woman stood there for some time, simply watching, weighing her options, which were limited for the moment. The wind picked up across the ledge, blowing her high tied ponytail this way and that, the black ribbon keeping it in place trailed out, cracking quietly when the gust caught it just so. Though everything was wet, the short red and black coat she wore seemed to be doing an admirable job at keeping the redhead from the worst of it.

"So, that's Aqua City," the redhead spoke, words carried away by the wind almost as she said them.

"Yes, Lady Sora, the new Utopia," another feminine voice replied, echoing in the redhead's ear. "They're waiting for you, somewhere in that place."

Sora Himoto stood by herself on the ledge, but she wasn't alone. Never alone, and it was a comforting feeling, knowing that. Turning her head, she glanced at the long spear resting in the crook of her arm. It was but one of two companions, the other a dirk resting sheathed at her waist. "Do you think we have a real chance?"

The voice within the spear didn't speak up. Sora felt its reluctance, even through the leather gloves she wore, hand resting lightly on the haft.

"You were lucky last time, Sora. Running in headlong isn't going to work every time, and you can't afford to slip up, even once," the dagger resonated with a huskier voice, quite different from the light pitch the spear spoke with, though female just the same.

"I have to try. You both know that more than anyone. If I don't, who will? They're suffering even as we waste time, debating. I'm the Knight of Justice, and I've sworn to save all of you," Sora said, gripping the spear tighter in her righteous exclamation.

"We know, we're not doubting your desire," the spear gasped out at the sudden pressure. "It's just, maybe a plan would be a good place to start."

"Sorry, Tomoko," the redhead loosened up when she realized why the spear was acting flustered. "This is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. It's pretty frustrating. I want to hurry and save the others."

"We know, Lady Sora," Tomoko said, understanding the redhead's issue, as well as knowing the problem first hand. "And we're grateful as ever, that you took it upon yourself to free us. You have our complete support, and everything that entails."

"Yes, and we want more than anything for you to succeed. But, we also think that maybe finding more help is a good idea. They're bound to be expecting you to come to the island. Alone. But, they couldn't possibly anticipate others joining you," the dagger explained.

"Who? Who else is there? No one was willing to help, when I first found you, Yuki."

"We, we might know someone. From before, back when we were...normal," Yuki supplied. "We just haven't been in a position to ask, and I was, hesitant. It was a long time ago. He probably doesn't remember," the dagger fell silent, likely reminiscing.

"All we can do is try, then. Aqua City isn't going anywhere. Still, I'd like to hurry," Sora stepped back from the precipice. "Yuki, if you would be so kind as to lead the way."

"Of course, Lady Sora," the dagger did as she was bid, relaying the directions toward where a distant chi thrummed somewhere in the city. In her current form, Yuki Yagizawa was just able to sense his presence, like a ghost flickering in the corner of one eye. There but gone if you tried too hard to grasp it. Ranma Saotome, the man she was intended to marry, a different lifetime ago.

Together, the Knight of Justice and two living weapons, the precious Heikihime that she protected, set off into the rain soaked night.

oOoOoOo

Elsee dropped to one knee, grimacing as another kick, courtesy of those damn cowboy boots, slipped through her guard and caught her right in the stomach. Her opponents were wearing her down, and it was all she could do now, to catch her breath. Supporting herself against her broom, the former demon held up her free hand, palm out. "Enough, I give. It's my loss," she sighed, hanging her head.

The suited woman wasn't the only one heaving from exertion. The dancer calling herself Reiko was panting, and took advantage of the lull to rub at her shin where she'd hit the hardened cloth far more often than Elsee's body. The last strike had been lucky on her part. She hissed as her fingers pressed against the bruises starting to form. "Good, so you're willing to talk now?"

"Fine, just give me a second here," Elsee huffed and stood back up to her full height, wincing as she stretched. A flick of her wrist and the broom disappeared back to wherever part of hell she'd snatched it from. Taking the skull shaped clip off her head, she slicked back her soaked hair and snapped the clip back into place. A few strands fell loose and she left them hanging down across her forehead. "What a mess," she said, surveying the rips, tears and slices all across her once immaculate suit.

The demonic secretary snapped her fingers and the thin pink cloth hanging around her shoulders flickered, the damage to her clothing repairing itself in short order. "That's better, I suppose."

I rocked back on my heels, sword sheathed and slipped back inside my coat while Elsee made us wait. With the broom put away, I didn't see any need to keep flashing steel, so that was that. Besides, she basically admitted defeat, and that was good enough for me for now. At least, as long as she kept her word and told us just what she'd done with the girls.

As for the fake dancer, I didn't really have anything to do with her, but from the sound of it, both of us were in the same boat, so I'd play along nice as long as she didn't get in my way. The green haired chick had wandering hands, so it was better to keep a little space between us, just to be on the safe side. I already had my own hands full, trying to clean up Nabiki's mess. Last thing I wanted was more trouble heaped up on my plate. "So..."

"Fine. I'm saying this up front, I don't know exactly where they are, or what sort of condition they might be in. It's not in my best interest to know, and God doesn't seem to care, so I didn't bother sticking my nose where it didn't belong," she held up a finger to stall the comment that Reiko looked more than ready to deliver.

"What I can tell you is that they were probably being sent on to that island. Several girls from other clubs that God owns have been transferred there in the past month. Other places around here have been bought out, maybe for the same reason. Like I said, it's not my concern as long as God doesn't have an issue with it. Check with the other clubs, or whatever. Just don't come back here, either of you. It's bad for business," Elsee didn't even bother elaborating, or waiting for questions, she just turned and started walking back toward the door.

"Hey, what island," I called after her, not really following her hastily given explanation.

"Water City or something. I don't know. Look it up online, or watch the news. It's all over the place, jerk." Elsee fired off in parting just before the door slammed shut behind her.

"What was that? Is she joking," I said, vaguely tossing the question at 'Reiko'.

"Honestly, I don't know. But, I think she was telling the truth, for what that's worth," the cowboy booted girl answered, starting to shiver now that she wasn't running around. "I've heard about that place though. It's supposed to be reclaimed land in Tokyo bay, a big project the city's been working on over the last few years. Some corporate honcho is funding a huge chunk of it. If Saki is there."

"Well, it's the only real lead I've got." Aside from the few notes in Nabiki's device, I silently added. "I'm up for checking the place out," I stuck out a water logged hand, "I'm Saotome, by the way." The green haired girl looked at me for a moment, and I half figured she was going to walk off like the other chick. Instead, she clasped my offered hand, holding on pretty firmly, and a lot longer than necessary.

"Saotome, huh. You can call me Aya," she said with an easy smile. "So, we going back to your place or mine? It's been a really long day, and I'd like to dry off, get cleaned up. And I've really got to know how a stud turned into a babe in such a short time."

"Uh, yeah, maybe another time. I need to check up on this island," came my lame rejoinder. Her not so subtle offer kind of threw me for a curve, though I'd half been expecting it.

"My place it is," Aya made up her mind and started off across the parking lot, having snagged my hand before I could protest. "My ride's parked over here, hope you've got a good grip," she said over her shoulder, tossing a quick wink. True to her word, a green Yamaha motorcycle was waiting near the bike racks at the mouth of the small parking lot that lead back out toward the side streets. "It's just a few blocks away. You can use Saki's helmet, the red one."

"Thanks but," I barely got a word in edgewise before she tossed said helmet my way. It was either catch it or let it hit a car behind me, so I reflexively found myself clutching the cherry red head protector.

"Hop on. I don't think she'll call the cops, but it's better not to stick around and find out the hard way," Aya's voice was muffled inside her own green helmet and she patted the higher seat cushion right behind her invitingly.

Sighing, I decided she was probably right, and I'd just have to follow along for now. I could always catch the nearest train or a taxi when we arrived wherever she was intent on taking us. Conceding, I clambered onto the seat, which like everything else was wet. Yeah, this didn't feel safe at all, not that taking a tumble was going to hurt all that badly. I'd been dragged full tilt behind trains before, and what was a little road rash in comparison.

"Good, grab on nice and tight, wouldn't want you falling off before the ride is over," Aya said, sounding too damn eager for my taste. And then, we were off.


End file.
